The present invention relates to a brake fluid reservoir and to an installation for the manufacture of such a reservoir.
The invention relates to a brake fluid reservoir combined with a tandem master cylinder, comprising a gauging well, that is fluid-tight at least in the range in which the float installed in the well for monitoring the brake fluid level in the reservoir and for generating a signal moves, the reservoir being formed of two parts, an upper part and a lower part, these each being provided with partitions and well elements which, when the two parts are assembled, make up the compartments and the gauging well, the two parts each being made of a thermoweldable plastic so that they can be assembled with one another by thermowelding the walls and partitions that compartmentalize the reservoir, by pressing together edges that have been melted beforehand.
The invention also relates to a thermowelding installation for creating a brake fluid reservoir, which reservoir is formed by using thermowelding to assemble the walls and partitions of the parts of the reservoir, which thermowelding is achieved by injecting thermoweldable plastic, the installation comprising a support to accept the upper part of the reservoir, a support to accept the lower part of the reservoir, these two supports facing one another, and a hotplate intended to be positioned between the two reservoir parts so that the edges of the walls and partitions of the two reservoir parts can be pressed against the hotplate in order to cause the edge of the two reservoir parts to melt partially, then the hotplate can be extracted from this gap and the two parts of the reservoir pressed together in order to weld them by thermowelding.
Brake fluid reservoirs of the type defined hereinabove already exist. Assembling the two parts of the reservoir using thermowelding generates welding flash. Now, although this flash is of no consequence on the walls of the reservoir and on the partitions that compartmentalize this reservoir, it may prove problematic at the gauging well that houses the float. Flash inside the well may jam or impede the movement of the float. Fitting the float inside the well of the reservoir prior to welding may also cause damage to the float as a result of its proximity to the welding hotplate. There may also be created, in addition to plastic flash at the weld, a thread of plastic which enters the well and impedes the movement of the float.
To sum up, in known brake fluid reservoirs there is a risk that the float will operate incorrectly or will behave differently inside the well, for example when the vehicle is inclined and the float therefore rests against the wall of the gauging well. Such reservoirs are known from document GB 2 204 997 A.